Perfect Quote for an Election Year

He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.

George Bernard Shaw



also, it looks like a Republican neighbor is going to vouch for me so that I can (cancel out his) vote...isn't that wonderful?

No time to post anything, but there's a really interesting post about Mitt Romney on R.T.Rybak's blog (mayor of the city of Minneapolis - a great guy and hopefully a politician with a bigger future).

Take a look at it here.

Elections

It's an election year, and I haven't said anything yet, but that's really just because I've been so *&%$ busy with the house and now with packing...it's not because I don't have opinions about the state of things.  Of course, I haven't followed the campaign as closely as normally would, but I try to keep a finger on the pulse.

David Brooks' column today is about the state of the Romney campaign, and why it's not working.  David Brooks is my favorite Republican thinker.  He doesn't shoot from the hip.  He is insightful, and I think he's as objective as a human being can be when talking politics.  This is the guy from the other side of the aisle that I like to listen to most.

Some of these guys who run for president, you just have to feel sorry for them.  They're not bad people, but they're not president material either; if you can't run a campaign (or get people who can run it for you) then you probably can't run the country either.  It has happened before, and it will happen again.

Anyway, I hope Obama wins.  I don't think he's perfect, but he is smart and competent and I think he's a good person too.  I think he's good for the country, and that he continues to unite more than divide (in spite of campaign politics, which are always divisive).  He is able to compromise, but not willing to sacrifice the future for short-term gain.  There was a lot broken in the U.S. when he was elected four years ago.  I think we're in a better place now than we were then, and I think four more years will bring even more improvement.

Plus, I love Michelle :-)

Still Waiting for the Fat Lady to Sing

Coleman's Lead Shrinks To 206 Votes

ST. PAUL (WCCO) ― The margin in Minnesota's unresolved Senate race has gotten tighter again in the latest figures reported to the secretary of state.Republican incumbent Norm Coleman's lead over Democrat Al Franken stands at 206 votes as of Monday afternoon. It had been 221 votes in tallies that are still considered unofficial.County canvassing boards are meeting to certify their results, a week ahead of the state canvassing board.The one-hundredth of 1 percent difference between the two candidates will trigger an automatic recount that won't start until next week.

What Now?

For those of us who have been obsessing and ranting about the election, there is the question now of what's next? What can I obsess about now? I think some of us will just have to wait and hope ... because I do feel very hopeful all of a sudden. (Nice photos, P)
This is girl-child after voting for the first time in a national election. How fun would that be, to vote for a winner the first time? I've only voted for the winner in the presidential race three times now - I hope she has better luck!

I'm very happy for her - and for all young people - because of the hope that the Obama presidency inspires. (Even though, imho, it will take two or three generations to recover from the W years.)

I think I'll start watching the first season of West Wing again. I don't see Rahm Emanuel as a Leo McGarry type, but perhaps that will make it more interesting to watch the new administration in action.

In the meantime, I'll continue to knit. I finished the back of the Must Have Cardigan: It's really quite nice and I love the color. After making Boy-child two orange hats and working on orange socks for Girl-child, I'm enjoying the green very much. A person can only take so much orange.

I took Girl-child shopping today - she has given in to the fact that she needs boots for the winter. I think the snow yesterday and today inspired her. I was always a boot person, so I hope that she sees the light while shod in the fab pair we found at DSW today. We got her jeans too; the general public will no longer know what color underwear she has on when she's walking around campus...

Boy-child visited two schools in the past two weeks and has decided to stick with the current one 'till the end of the year with the hope that he'll get into the better of the two recently visited for next fall; the lesser of the two will be the back-up. He has calmed down a lot over the past month, and I am very grateful for that.

I went to see author Monica Ferris* today at a local yarn shop. She is quite a charming woman. She read from her new book, Thai Die, which is not out quite yet. I picked up Sins and Needles for the trip to Chile, as well as a basic hat, mittens and scarves book for Girl-child to have for reference. I'm so sorry I didn't take my camera, because Ms Ferris had on a wonderful hat which she purchased at a store in Muncie that caters to African-American church-going women, in the spirit of Crowns. Since she's local, I'm hoping I'll have another opportunity to see her; hopefully with camera in hand.

*Thanks kmkat, for pointing out that the Monica Ferris website has hat pictures!

Dirty Laundry

Well, well, well...



So they didn't want to spill the beans before the election ... what would have happened if Lehman Brothers hadn't declared bankruptcy in September?

November 5, 2008

Summer in November

Yesterday and today have been beyond beautiful weather-wise and I have been fortunate enough to have been outside to enjoy it a bit.

My mother's nursing home is in a not-so-good part of town that used to be a wonderful part of town. Here are details from a couple of the mansions on her block - the first one is for sale if you're interested:

After visiting her on Sunday I felt a need to decompress, so I went to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

I love the place - it's close enough to my mother's that I think I'll make it a regular stop. The greenhouse is particularly spectacular in the winter, but always enjoyable.

I had an unusual request for pictures to be possibly used on KnittaPlease so I had some fun with that. I hope the pictures prove useful to her, but if they don't, I'll have fun trying it again.

These were taken on campus:

And these at the Obama office where I volunteered after work today:

My most unusual conversation on the phone during my volunteer stint was with a man who said he can't vote because he's a three time felon. Well! I wondered how he could be home answering the phone if he's a three-timer, but I guess he could be on probation. Or he could be pulling my leg.

These past two days are why I love this time of year:

And this from Tom, on the other side of the world:

An election is coming. Universal peace is declared and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry. ~T.S.Eliot

(That reminds me, I have to fill up my car tomorrow before gas doubles in price!)

Leaves, Socks and The Campaign

The Dreaded Black Socks are done. This is what they looked like when they had only the toes to be fused: In a fit of industriousness I decided to rake before knitting - I got over 20 bags worth done - bagged and taken to the city compost drop-off. This is part of the first car-full before bagging:
So I'm over 1/2 done. Who knew a postage-stamp sized lawn could end up with so many leaves? (One of those trees above has not lost any leaves yet).My true goal this weekend was to make the Ironic Baby some red, white and blue mittens, but alas, I have no outline or measurements of his little hands (hint, hint). I really don't remember what the size of 2 year old hands is like. I did manage to make a hat for him which I will call The Election Day Hat, although I believe it is going to be too warm on Tuesday to wear it. I will send it off to school with Boy-child on Monday anyway, with the hope that I get a cute picture with Ironic Baby wearing the hat (hint, hint). I tried a new technique and it's quite different from anything else I've made. It was also very quick so the mittens will be a breeze. Also, don't forget, I need the outline of the father's foot as well as the baby's hand since there is an algorithm for calculating the baby's growth rate based on the dad's foot size ...

I now have only three pairs of socks on the needles; one pair only needs a mate, one is in hibernation (I think I'll take it with to Chile) and one will be coming out of hibernation. There is also an orange hat and the cardigan. This will all be done when I am watching election returns and beyond, I guess, since I got suckered in to volunteering for the Obama campaign on Monday night.

Talk to Your Parents

The Final Stretch

Because I can't help myself, and because I love Scott Bateman:

John McCain on the polls:


Sarah Palin can't let go of the Bill Ayers thing:

(did the Weather Underground bomb anyone but themselves?)

On Michele Bachmann

On a brighter note, Michelle Bachman seems to have derailed her candidacy.

Please note:

*A Republican is launching a write-in campaign as a sort of referendum on her

*Her DFL opponent, Tinklenberg, received $640,000 in donations during the 48 hours following her remarks questioning Obama's patriotism

*National Democrats plan to spend $1 million dollars to defeat her (they must be overjoyed that she did so much of the work for them)

Personally, I have always found her to be a major embarrassment to Minnesota - view this encounter with Bush - sort of reminds me of fervant Catholics meeting the Pope:

(Oh, if I could only touch him! )

On Patriotism and Pride

I think it's pretty self-explanatory

Endorsed!

Honestly, I am weeping with joy.

Colin Powell has endorsed Obama.

(thanks, S, for the update)

Joe's 15 Minutes of Fame

As P so succincly pointed out, once again the McCain campaign did not properly vet their new poster child ... Joe The Plumber (referred to over thirty times in the debate? Really?) is not a real plumber, would benefit from the Obama tax plan, not McCain's and is currently behind in his taxes. Wow. Ooops!

I didn't watch the debate - I was at book club with the girls (see below). Am I ever glad. I probably would have blown a gasket anyway. And you know, I was pretty unhappy about Obama going the slow, steady, peaceful path while he was being attacked, but now I can see that it really was a good approach. There's Obama, calm, cool, collected ... steady as a rock. And there's McCain, irritable and cantankerous, making bad, snap decisions in a snit.

Which one would I rather see as president ... hmmmmm ... let me think ...

Odds and Ends

I've always taken the banned books issue to heart. (I probably should have gone with that public library job.) Anyway, this site has some good comics - not as racy as Questionable Content and certainly not as cynical as Unshelved.

We managed to pull together a party of four for book club last night. The book was A Prayer for Owen Meany, which I read some time ago and enjoyed very much. We didn't talk about the book though; never do with this group. Most of the talk was of pregnancy related issues. I wonder why?

As a result of book club, I was spared watching the debate. Thank goodness. And while I don't think we have to worry about it any more, here's a fun little site that helps envision President Palin - mouse over and click for sound (thanks Kate).

In News of the Weird - Who knew that "going postal" could ever apply to librarians? An adjunct librarian at Northeast Lakeview College in Live Oak, Texas walked into the library and shot a librarian. Apparently they had quarreled about work ethic in the past. Well! That's some ethics issue, isn't it?

Third Party Candidate Makes Headway

This just in from The Onion:

Sunday's Questions and Update

So, I heard some news show this morning and the talking heads were discussing the opposing positions of Obama and McCain on capital gains taxes. Now tell me the truth here ... if our houses are worth less than they were five years ago, and the stock market has crashed, just who is concerned at the moment with capital gains taxes?

Also, I was cleaning up the house today ... something I have fallen severely behind in what with all the upheaval in the household over these past two weeks ... and I found a grocery bag that Girl-child had deposited in the kitchen during one of her visits. In the bag I found 1) a sun dress, 2) two pairs of boxers, 3) a W and a Vogue magazine and, 4) the instructions and software for the printer we recently purchased that she took to the U with her. ??? Interesting combination, Sweet Pea. Thanks.

Speaking of Girl-child and the U, yesterday we went to see the U Theater Department's production of The Woyzeck Project. Wow. Very interesting, a bit disturbing and quite cool.

For knitting I made some sock progress that is too boring to mention ... I also made Boy-child a new purple alpaca hat ...

... and then ... I discovered colorwork. The project from the Mississippi cruise was seriously attacked, albeit with modifications (the actual colors are green and lavender):

It's going to be a fingerless mitten designed by Pam Allen ... the yarn is Fresco by Classic Elite and it is delicious.

Back to Normal

***Whatever normal is ...

***I always hate it when the Nobel winner of literature is someone I've never heard of. Must. check. this. guy. out.(From the Associated Press): France's Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio won the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for works characterized by "poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy" and focused on the environment, especially the desert.

***Did you hear that the US Debt Clock has run out of digits? Read about it here. The square used for the dollar sign will now be the extra digit needed until the sign can be replaced (that is, if someone can come up with the money for a new one).

***Which one?
Or this one? I guess "That One" might be one of the more memorable lines from the debate this week. How much lower can we go? (Not much, I hope)

***Here's a book blog that is geared toward book groups (from Booklist) - looks like a great place to get ideas for good reads.

***And just for fun, take a look at the Strange Maps blog for information on the colonial state of San Seriffe. What a kick! Be sure to read the whole thing, and note the use of the word "condominium" which actually means Joint rule or sovereignty according to the OED.

On the Palin "Win"

Thanks, Kate, for the flow chart.

I'll try to refrain from ranting. Let me just say that I initially resented the fact that Palin "won" because she didn't fall on her face. I guess now they're saying the undecideds are not so impressed after having a couple of days to think about it.

I'm also very proud of Girl-child, who has fallen in love with Joe Biden.